This invention relates to apparatus for cleaning and disinfecting medical equipment, and more particularly, to machine operated functions to improve cleanliness and disinfection of medical equipment.
Hospital acquired infections pose serious problems, and, to a large extent, may be a function of the cleaning and disinfecting procedures. It is established procedure to use hand washing techniques for cleaning and disinfecting. In recent years, technology has brought an abundance of throwaway parts and tubing to the medical profession. Nonetheless, it is desirable and it may become more necessary in the future for ecological purposes to clean and disinfect medical equipment for reuse.
Cleaning and disinfecting techniques for medical equipment should include, in addition to a thorough cleaning, removal of all organic matter, destruction of vegetative organisms, removal of all traces of detergent or other chemical additives, and adequate drying. Hand washing techniques are imprecise and are not as effective as machine washing techniques. Machine washing techniques can provide clear advantages over hand washing, provided that the apparatus is capable of achieving the desired cleaning, disinfecting and drying. Accordingly, it is the purpose of the present invention to provide new and improved machine cleaning and disinfecting systems for medical equipment.